Pandemic ‘has accelerated need for rates change’

The pandemic has accelerated the need to change the current business rates system, which is out-of-date, unsustainable and in urgent need of reform, according to the joint report by the CBI and Avison Young.

‘Over-rated – making the case for business rates reform’ believes that the burden of business rates in England – at nearly 50p in the pound – will continue to climb without change.

The CBI’s Yorkshire and Humber director, Beckie Hart, warns that rising business rates will hit many investment plans, hitting bottom lines and inadvertently growing inequality between England’s richest and poorest areas.

The Government has launched a review and called for evidence which identifies the key issues.

As a first step to reform, the CBI and Avison Young have set out a package of 12 critical measures, which would save business £21.8bn over five years. It wants the Government to freeze the rate before taking steps to lower the rate by 2023.

Ms Hart said: “The Government gets it and knows that action is needed. It’s a real drain on many businesses and that’s why business rates relief was one of the first levers the Government reached for in their business support packages in spring.

“But the pandemic has fast-forwarded the need for wholesale change. The scale of economic damage from Covid-19, along with growing shifts towards online retail and remote working, is a heavy weight to bear for already struggling businesses.”

Claire Paraskeva, principal at Avison Young in Leeds, added: “Business rates can be used as a major tool and our proposed package over the next five years delivering savings of £21.8bn will act as a stimulus for business growth through investment.”

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson